Insanity EP
The Insanity EP, released 2 September 2012, is an EP by Long Island metal band Insanium. Much like their first album, it was recorded in drummer Thomas Diognardi's basement. However, unlike their first album it was self released through Bandcamp for free. The EP features a more modern metal style as well as better production. In May of 2013, The Insanity EP was re-released, featuring the re-recorded versions of "Psychodick" and "Cloud 9", remastered versions of "Burdens","Sinful" and "Hypnotica", as well as altered cover artwork. Songs Following the release of the EP, drummer Thomas Diognardi explained each songs meaning and the writing process involved. He updated his Facebook status once a day, covering one song each status. Burdens : "Burdens was one of those songs where i wrote the first riff, and 5 minutes later i had the whole thing pretty much mapped out. I knew I wanted the lyrics to deal with a serial killer, and due to the somewhat moody prechorus and chorus, I decided to make it a somewhat sympathetic song. Like, these serial killers have a passion, something they love to do just like any other passion. It just so happens to be a terrible thing that we have to punish them for. I think that sympathetic tone puts a unique twist to the song. Me and Jon wrote they lyrics 50/50. I wrote the 1st verse, prechorus and chorus, he wrote the 2nd verse prechorus and chorus, and the last chorus is a combination of the 1st two. We knew this should be the sort of "lead single" for whatever it ended up on, and it's become a crowd favorite live as well as our intro song. I think it'll stand the test of time." Sinful : "Sinful started once Rob came to me with that first riff you hear in the song. It just had such a cool edge and a sort of instant accessibility to it, I kinda flipped out. So he told me kind of what he wanted the rest of the song to sound like and I pretty much pieced it together from there. A few of the parts I had written a while ago and they just needed a song to live in, and a few I wrote exclusively for the song. Jon was the main writer behind these lyrics, and i think he described them best when he said : 'This song criticizes the hypocrisy of religion and how it can negatively affect people. It's a very sarcastic song that targets the preachers that defy their own practices and the way it brainwashes their followers.' " Hypnotica : "This is a very special song for me. It's the only song I've written where the lyrics are written completely off personal experience, although it may be the first of many. As usual the music started with the first thing you hear in the song. It came purely out of just messing around on a guitar. When I started playing it, it took me to a very mysterious sort of place; a confusing place. That's what inspired the lyrics. Hypnotica is about my struggle with my own opinions. I'm a very passive person, and I tend not to take sides in combative situations because I like to please everyone. The problem is, sometimes I never really know what I stand for or what my REAL opinion is on a situation. I sort of just drift in nowhere land, and I decided to name this nowhere land "Hypnotica". A play off the word "hypnotic" or "hypnotized" because that's what I am. I'm controlled and manipulated by others thoughts so easily, I feel like I'm not myself a lot. Im hypnotized in a sense." Psychodick : "Psychodick is basically me and Jons demented child. There was this person in Jons life that really screwed him over and caused Jon alot of stress. It started to affect everyone in the band soon and we decided to write a song about this person. We almost wanted it to be angry to a point of immaturity, because when your angry youre not thinking about the 'mature' thing to say or the right thing to do. You act on animal instincts, and we wanted that to be what the song was all about. So I tuned my guitar down to drop Bb and wrote the heaviest stuff I've ever written, Jon coupled that with these filthy, furious lyrics and soon our anger had manifested itself into 'Psychodick'. Despite it's heaviness, this is actually a really groovy song. My favorite part is the break. When we play that part live, I feel the energy and the anger that I wanted to capture." Cloud 9 : "Cloud 9 was actually a unique experience for me when it came to writing the music. Danny wrote all the lyrics to it, and sent them to me basically to come up with music for it. And thats essentially how it was written, particularly the chorus. I wrote the music based on the lyrics, rather than the other way around. The verse and break I actually had written prior to Danny's lyrics, but his lyrics helped me figure out what kind of roles i wanted those parts to play. I believe Danny wrote these lyrics about drugs, although it is rather obscure. This tends to be our most well liked song by the general public, and I think that's great. I think you need a song that people can access easily, something catchy and simple. This is definitely our most "radio-worthy" song in my opinion and when I listen to it, I can imagine it being a hit. But of course, that's wishful thinking haha" Track Listing ' No. Title Length Music Lyrics' #Burdens 5:22 Thomas Diognardi Diognardi, Jon Conway #Sinful 6:20 Diognardi, Rob Walsh Conway, Diognardi, Aaron Harris #Hypnotica 5:57 Diognardi Diognardi #Psychodick 3:59 Diognardi Conway #Cloud 9 5:55 Diognardi Daniel Freeda Personel Aaron Harris- Vocals Jon Conway- Lead Guitar, Artwork Rob Walsh- Guitar, (solo in "Sinful") Dan Freeda- Bass guitar Tommy Nickel- Bass Guitar (on the rerecorded versions of "Psychodick" and "Cloud 9") Thomas Diognardi- Drums, Backing Vocals, Production, Mixing, Mastering